Art therapy is used for the assessment and treatment of educational and emotional problems. Art therapy in public schools helps foster self-awareness and social skills, reduce anxiety, increase self-esteem and improve students' ability to solve problems. Art therapy also can be a tool for managing student behavior.
Art therapists encourage students to display their wishes, memories and conflicts in visual form. Students use their artwork to talk about their feelings.
At colleges like New York University, prospective art therapists are trained to use psychotherapy in concert with visual arts to solve problems that interfere with the learning process. Art therapy students are exposed to a wide range of clinical approaches. Professional art therapists have master's degrees. In the public schools, the art therapist is typically part of a student services team.
Art therapy can help every student, but it works particularly well for students who are having trouble in school because of a personal crisis, disability or behavioral problem. While some students resist traditional verbal therapy because it can seem threatening, art therapy can be effective because children find the art process a more natural way to communicate their emotions.
In the public schools, a teacher can refer a child to an art therapist because of emotional problems, a learning disability, a speech or language disorder, illness or a behavioral disorder. Art therapists can diagnose the problem, create a focused intervention and provide support services to improve the student's ability to learn.
As a member of a child services team, an art therapist consults with teachers and parents about the relationship between learning and social or behavioral problems. Art therapists help teachers come up with classroom strategies for students with special needs, and evaluate their effectiveness. Using a variety of techniques, art therapists evaluate a student's cognitive, personality and emotional development, academic strengths and weaknesses and participation in class activities. They also work with students and families and provide counseling.